Summer With the Weasleys
by 123-say-cheese
Summary: What happens when Dudley and his wife, Emily, are invited to stay at the Burrow during the summer with their son, Rodney, and all of the red-haired clan? Will Dudley be able to keep his cool around all the magic? ON HIATUS! NOT SURE IF I'LL CONTINUE!
1. Shirts and Muggles

**A/N** Heyyy! This is carried on (sort of) from my story 'A Very Unexpected Letter' so if you haven't read that, you might want to read it first.

**Stop reading here if you want to read 'A Very Unexpected Letter' first.** The basic - note: _very basic_ - plot of 'A Very Unexpected Letter' to jog the memory of those of you who can't remember was: Rodney, Dudley's son gets accepted into Hogwarts. Dudley has to come to terms with his hate and prejudice of all things magic. He worries about losing his son to what is the 'unknown' for him and tells Rodney that he can't go to Hogwarts. But after talking to Harry and some self-evaluation, Dudley realises that Rodney should go to Hogwarts and he must think of his son - not himself.

I know I said I would do a few one-shots with Rodney in Hogwarts and I probably still will. But at the moment, I am getting loads of school work and I don't know when I'll be able to do them. This is _not_ a one shot but I don't expect it to be that long. And it is also not set at Hogwarts. I wanted the story to be more about Dudley than Rodney.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! And please, send your reviews this way! :D

**Disclaimer:I do not claim.**

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**Summer With The Weasleys**

Shirts and Muggles

The half moon was covered by dark, hazy clouds which roared as they unleashed their bullets in the form of water droplets. They blasted to the ground, wetting everything in their paths – nothing could escape their agonizingly cold shots. A few cars zoomed past on the main road in the blurry distance, splashing puddles that looked more like lakes and spraying water over the muddy fields that wrapped around the curving roads like a snake wraps around its prey. The fields seemed to be overwhelming the road. Most of the grass - which had already overpowered the fields and turned many a nice meadow into a jungle - had grown past the boundary fences and was conquering the road. A typical British summer. But none of this registered in the mind of Dudley Dursley. Firstly, because he was pacing his room - to busy thinking of the coming day. Secondly, because the curtains were closed.

-

Dudley was worrying – unusual for him. He had always considered himself a pretty cool guy. Why was he nervous anyway? He sat down on his bed where his wife, Emily, was sleeping and evaluated the situation. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. What were the reasons for the twisting in his stomach and the sweaty palms? The answer came straight away: Rodney was returning from Hogwarts tomorrow. Dudley checked his alarm; it was past midnight – he corrected himself: Rodney was returning from Hogwarts later that day. Not to mention the fact that they were going to see him at the house of the Weasley's.

-

It had been almost a year since Dudley had last seen his son. Rodney had not returned home for Christmas or Easter because he had wanted to stay at his school so he could access Hogwarts' extensive library for all his schoolwork. Neither Dudley nor Emily had taken his decision lightly but after countless mails and one too many owl droppings scattered around the cozy house, they had consented to his wishes. Dudley had been troubled ever since. He began resenting Hogwarts just as he had when Rodney had received the acceptance letter. He felt that his son was slipping through his fingers into a world of sorcery and magic that he could not follow into – even if he wanted to.

-

Dudley remembered watching his son learn boxing at the club Dudley himself had trained at when he was a boy. He remembered feeling his heart literally burst with pride and excitement that his son could enter competitions and become a good ol' fighter. Those dreams, along with all the things he had been excited about experiencing with his son, had been crushed when he had found that stupid letter. He felt his knuckles crack and glanced down at his hands which were clenched into fists. Dudley immediately felt ashamed of himself. He should be pleased that his son was taking such a keen interest in his school work. He switched the lights off and climbed back into his bed next to Emily. He sighed. If his pain was bad, Emily's was ten times worse. She had not stopped crying after Rodney had requested to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. And she had just about recovered when he sent another letter saying he had to stay there over Easter as well. He had said that he needed to study for his end of year exams and that the only place he could was at Hogwarts where they had the resources he needed. He said he wasn't even allowed to perform magic out of the school so what was the point in leaving it? Emily had been an absolute wreck. Dudley felt his stomach clenching again and furiously blanked his mind and tried to close his eyes and drift off.

-

"Wake up!"

Dudley was rudely awakened by the rough shaking of his wife.

"Come on! Today is the day we are going to the Weasel's house!" She said wringing her hand nervously. "Oh, I hope I've packed everything we need!"

Emily flitted around the bedroom pulling things out of drawers and putting them back in. Dudley rolled his eyes at her mispronunciation of the wizarding family's name and looked at his alarm clock.

"6am!!! Are you crazy! We don't have to leave until this evening!" He exclaimed.

"We need a head start to get everything ready," Emily said disapprovingly.

"We packed two weeks ago," Dudley pressed.

"I just want to be prepared! This is the first time we've seen Rodders in almost a year. It will be so strange! And we will be the only ones who can't do any magic there – I'll feel completely useless," she cried, sitting on the bed and covering her face with her hands.

Dudley grudgingly sat up and put his arms around his wife.

"Don't worry, dear. They can't be that much different then us."

He felt bad about lying but he knew he had to comfort Emily. Suddenly, she sprang from his grasp and started pacing the room.

"Oh no! Should I take a hairdryer? They don't have plug holes do they?" She cried, flailing her hands helplessly in the air.

Dudley rolled his eyes and fell back on the bed.

-

The evening had eventually come and Emily and Dudley were sitting nervously in their living room.

"You don't think they'll come on broomsticks and expect us to fly do you?" Emily whispered as though she was worried that they would hear her.

"No. They'll be more considerate then that," Dudley said.

Emily nodded.

"I hope," he added in an undertone.

-

CRACK! Dudley sprang up from his seat and Emily let out a shriek of surprise. Harry Potter stood in the Dursley's living room, eyes wide and mischievous, holding a stained and torn T-shirt in his hand.

"Nice to see you again, Harry," Emily said, springing forward to shake Harry's hand, recovering faster than Dudley had.

"It's my pleasure," Harry said politely.

"Um…would you like a cup of tea?" Dudley offered, unsure whether they were leaving immediately and whether or not he should be courteous.

"No, that's fine," Harry said, rocking on his feet. "We can be off straight away."

"Um…not to be rude," Dudley said cautiously. "But…how?"

He couldn't see any way for them to leave. Harry hadn't arrived by a car or a broom. He'd just appeared with a snap. Dudley and Emily did not possess those teleporting powers.

"Oh of course!" Harry said. "You don't know!"

Dudley and Emily laughed uneasily.

"All you have to do is grab onto this shirt when I tell you to," he indicated the grey rag in his hand.

Dudley raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

Harry nodded.

"What about our suitcases?" Emily asked.

"Don't worry about them. Ron's stopping off here before he goes to the Burrow and he'll apparate them to your room," Harry said ignoring the confused expressions on the Dursley's faces.

He looked around and caught Dudley's eye, his own emerald pair twinkling. Dudley cleared his throat, preparing himself for the journey and Harry grinned slightly.

"You are so merciless," Dudley berated Harry whose eyes immediately went all wide-eyed and innocent. "You enjoy seeing me like this!"

Harry laughed and Emily giggled slightly.

"That is quite true," he admitted. "You can't blame me. Imagine what you'd be like if you saw me with a drill or something else DIY-ish."

'_Well…that is sort of true, I guess,'_ Dudley thought.

"Oh! 30 seconds!" Harry exclaimed.

He laid the dirty cloth across the sofa – Dudley and Emily winced – and then ushered the two muggles over.

"When I say, grab onto that cloth, okay?" Harry said.

The couple nodded their head and set their faces in determined expressions. Dudley was considering just not doing as Harry asked and remaining safely in his house but he forced the image of his son to front of his mind and knew that he had to face his fears of magic.

"3…2…1…NOW!" Harry roared.

The three grabbed a fistful of the dank material each and suddenly, Dudley felt a jerking sensation behind his navel - as though his liver was trying to escape from the rest of his digestive system. He closed his eyes as everything started to move around him. And as suddenly as the feeling had started, it stopped. Dudley opened his eyes and found himself standing in what could be called a yard in the front of an odd, lopsided house.

"Welcome," Harry said. "To the Burrow."

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**A/N** Hope you liked! I know it's not much but it's only just started. The Dursleys will be meeting the Weasleys in the next chapter! Please review! I really appreciate all the feedback I get and it's good to know what you think of my ideas and writing; how I could better them, etc. Constructive criticism is always welcome :D.

Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Hey everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to update! My excuses are that I have exams starting Tuesday (6th Jan 09 depending when you read this) for two weeks and I've been busy revising for them. Also, I usually have the next chapter half way written before I post the chapter before it but I forgot to do that for this story. It seems to be a trend now...*whistles innocently*... But I've finally got this one up! Hope you enjoy! And REVIEW! Please?

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The Burrow

Dudley quickly shut his eyes as the world stopped spinning and sucked in the deepest breath he could take. He tried to mentally prepare himself for facing his biggest fear for the rest of the summer. It was his worst nightmare, his fear above all fears, his frightful abhorrence: _magic_. Magic at its most freaky – in the land of the ginger weirdoes. He was already seeing red at his and Emily's now clearly foolish plan to come to a place ruled by oddities of nature where their only mechanism of defence was the hope that this family were merciful.

"This place is amazing!" Dudley heard Emily gasp and Harry laugh in agreement.

_Curse you, woman! Won't you ever take my side?_ Dudley thought, annoyed.

-

Dudley bravely unlocked his jaw and shoved his panic-inducing thoughts into the crevices of his cranium. Then he slowly opened one eye, and then the other. His jaw dropped. Before him was a garden – if that was the correct word. The Dursley's had won more than their fair share of garden contests in their lives but Dudley had never, ever seen a garden like this one. There was a huge vegetable patch on his right that seemed to be..._alive_. Dudley looked away quickly. Whatever the hell it was, he did _not_ want to know. He looked around the general area of the house and noticed that it was situated near a lot of trees and some fields. He couldn't see much more because not only was he afraid to find out something that would scare him, but it was night and too dark to see.

"Do you live here?" Dudley could hear Emily ask from somewhere distant and the deeper murmur of Harry's voice as he replied.

There was definitely a pond somewhere; the croaks from some insomniac frogs proved that. He caught a glimpse of a rippling surface as the moon was exposed for a few moments from behind the suffocating clouds. But by then, he had noticed something more interesting than the pond.

-

As the moon looked down on the three wanderers, the biggest of the three suddenly noticed the huge, topsy-turvy house that stood proud in all its wacky glory under the silvery light emanating from the orb in the night sky. Snapping firmly back to Dudley's thoughts, he noticed that it literally looked as though someone had taken a handful of different rooms and piled them on top of each other in the most precarious way possible. There was no way the building could still be standing! It was absolutely-

"Dudley! Are you coming?"

Dudley's pondering thoughts were shattered by his wife whom, he noticed, was already at the door of the bizarre place. How could she be so calm about a place like this?! If he hadn't been under tremendous pressure by his spouse and his cousin, he would have turned and legged it in the opposite direction. He tried to quickly make his way to where Emily and Harry stood but was halted in his tracks by something hiding in the grass. He looked down and saw a fat, bald creature shaking its fist at him. Dudley's eyes popped open and the little man yelled a handful of choice swear words at him.

"EMILY!"

Dudley screamed as he leaped over the creature and sprinted as fast as he could to Emily's side. He caught up with her and stood panting at her side.

"I've not seen you run that fast since Aunt Petunia told you that you were going on a diet," Harry remarked, amused.

"There was a...a thing...bald...fist..." he spluttered.

"Oh honey, was it a reflection?" Emily clucked, her eyes twinkling while Harry sniggered.

_They've already starting propaganda against me! _Dudley thought irritably, still out of breath.

"It was probably a garden gnome," Harry said casually as Emily laughed.

Dudley glared at them both.

"Oh, I'm just joking, Dudley!" Emily said when she saw his face. "Come on now, let's go inside."

-

Harry opened the door to reveal a dimly lit kitchen. There was a candle glowing in the corner but apart from that there was no other lighting. Even with the lack of luminosity, Dudley could tell that this was a comfortable, homely kitchen. There were pictures of family members dotted across the walls. All the surfaces – although scratched – were shining like the steel Dudley had shown to even step foot inside this house.

"This is the kitchen," Harry whispered. "I assume everyone's in the living room. Keep quiet – we'll surprise them."

"I don't think we'll be that great of a surprise," Emily chuckled, eyeing some pots and pans that were cleaning themselves.

Dudley nodded furiously in agreement. This family already had all this magic, why would two normal folk be of any interest?

"Nonsense!" Harry scoffed. "Everyone's wanted to meet you for ages! Rodney can't wait!"

Dudley gulped nervously and shyly carried on looking around. He saw a grandfather clock next to him but gave a strangled cry when he realised that it had no numbers – just faces. He gaped at it and nudged Emily, glad that he had at least one person with whom he could share his distress with. But she wasn't upset at all; she was looking at the clock with amazement. Dudley re-examined it, wondering if he had missed something but no, it still looked alarming (excuse the pun) to him. There were probably around thirty hands on the clock, each with a different face on. Most of the faces had ginger hair so Dudley assumed that they must have been of the Weasley family. Almost all of the hands were pointed to 'Home' although some were stuck at 'Work'.

"Come on, don't wait here!" Harry said. "Rodney wants to see you! You can take a tour sometime later."

Dudley tried, but couldn't conceal the jealousy that his cousin had seen his son more times than he had in the past year. He held Emily's hand as he followed Harry through a door into a corridor. Dudley could definitely hear voices in the next room. They were getting louder and louder, and the closed door was getting nearer and nearer. Dudley started to sweat and his heart started to beat a hundred miles per hour. His eyes started to fill up with water and he roughly wiped them. _Why is my anxiety directly hardwired to my tear ducts_ he thought, frustrated. If he cried in front of the gingers...well, it couldn't be worse than them knowing about the tail.

-

The walk had been a long, gruelling one; although it had only been around five meters. But that was not the point! It had _felt_ a lot longer. Harry was at the door now and Dudley was being viciously slashed by panic. The fear was throbbing through him, sharp as daggers. It was going to kill him!

"This is it," Emily whispered in his ear.

He looked down at her excited face and tried to smile. If she was happy and Rodney was happy, he would be happy. Or at least, try.

"Are you guys ready?" Harry asked in an undertone.

Emily nodded eagerly and Dudley grimaced as though he was slowly being killed. Which he was – by panic.

"Alright then," Harry said, looking at Dudley. "Here we go."

He turned the door knob and strolled in. There was immediate silence from the room.

"Look who I brought," Harry announced.

Emily rushed in on her cue, Dudley drunkenly trailing after. His vision was going hazy. He walked into the room – a blur of faces. Then suddenly-

"MUM! DAD!"

Something hit the middle of his belly and swept him from under his feet. The last thing he thought before he graced the floor with his backside was 'what the _HELL_ is on me?'

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**A/N** Okay, so I lied! They didn't meet the Weasley's in this chapter. I was originally planning to make them meet in this one but because I hadn't written any of it yet (even though I usually have the next chapter half way written before I post the one before - read the top of the page if confused). I had not even started this chapter when I said that so it turned out when I was writing it that Dudley couldn't possibly arrive at the Burrow without getting scared of every single thing possible. It just couldn't be done! Lol, but definitely next time. And I know that even though I have not started the next chapter because Dudley is currently in the Weasley's living room - with the Weasleys. There's no way he can be in there without having to speak to them. ;-)

Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please review! Feedback is good :-). Later!


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